Canada Trip: Day 8- Banff NP to Jasper NP

It wouldn't be a day in Banff without our daily trip to the Cave and Basin.  Mason took Theo through the Cave portion while Woodrow and I wandered around the gift shop.  The overall impression was that the cave was cool, but glad they got in free with our Canadian National Parks pass.

When I was looking into our trip, the Icelandic Parkway that connects Banff and Jasper was one of the highlights of the region...which is how our trip ended up getting extended so far North.  The drive was beautiful with plenty of stops along the way, but I can only imagine how amazing it looks when it's covered in snow and ice in the winter.

We accidentally missed our first turn, BUT this allowed to me meet a fun goal of the trip-a short passage into British Columbia.  It was the most exciting missed turn, and only 10 minutes out of the way.  There wasn't anything too exciting to see, but I was glad to add another providence to my list.

Our first stop was next to Bow Lake.  The color of the water was the most pristine turquoise blue.  We took some lovely pictures and Mason took Theo down along the river bank while Woodrow stretched around the car and I cleaned up some trash and reorganized the back seat which had been a bit trashed by the kiddos.

We headed North towards the Athabaska Glacier.  You could drive pretty close to the Glacier in the summer, but it was sad to see the signs along the road showing where the Glacier used to reach in past decades.  There were trips that you can take out on to this Glacier in a special vehicle and you could walk around on the ice.  We got out and walked out closer to the Glacier.  I carried Woodrow and Mason walked ahead.  These darn hikes don't look as steep as they end up feeling.  Every time I carried Woodrow on my back I had more appreciation for Mason and his mad balance skills.

The rest of the ride North to Jasper was really pretty with lots of little pulloffs and great views of mountains and lakes.  Jasper was a super sweet little town.  We ended up staying at the Mount Robson Inn.  The outside looks straight from the 50s, but the inside of the room was updated and really nice.  We walked around the town a little bit and had dinner at a restaurant called "Something Else" and it was.  It was not that amazing, but it filled tummies.

There were many signs all over talking about different wildlife excursions you could go on, so we decided we'd just leave the same time as those excursions and see if we would find some wildlife.  Mason had done his research about where bear sightings had been in the few days prior, so we decided to take a 45 minute drive from the town to Maligne Lake.  Just a short way into the drive we saw a bunch of Elk along the road.  Of course some tourists got out of their cars and started forcing the Elk away from the road...urgh!  But, we got some great views.

The drive to Maligne Lake was very pretty since it was nearing sunset. This was one of the only places where we noticed recently burnt trees from the forest fires.  It was pretty empty by the lake when we got there.  Mason and the boys went walking a little deeper into the woods, but I decided to take a moment and wait by the car...I wasn't in to seeing a bear at this point in the evening.  They never saw a bear, but there were similar signs that you must travel in groups of four or more.

The drive back was quiet and pretty.  The kiddos settled down pretty well in our room and everyone got a good night's rest.      

Canada Trip: Day 7- Banff National Park

Today's adventures led us to the Johnston Canyon to hike the Upper and Lower falls trails.  This was one of the most crowded hikes that we went on.  The trails weren't too rough, with only moderate inclines, but there were many people.  The scenery was pretty and the smell was great-the whole trip smelled like Christmas, really.  This path was a little more developed than most of the others.  The Upper Falls was really pretty and we took a little snack break while we figured out a plan.  Mason could see people along the river bank and was trying to figure out a way to easily access that riverfront.  I didn't really think it would work out well for the kids and I to follow, so we hung out at the top for awhile while Mason climbed down and got some cool photos.  This hike was really great and I would definitely recommend it as a good family hike.  The kids enjoyed dipping their hands in the river before heading on to our next adventure.

We went back to the Cave and Basin but again were too late to check out the cave.  Darn!  We walked along the Discovery Boardwalk and got to check out the Sulfur pots.  The kids enjoyed running along this path and checking out the little ponds.  We hung out in this area for a little while so the kids could just run around and stretch their legs.

I convinced Mason to let us go to the Banff Hot Springs, up near Sulphur Mountain.  I thought that going at dinner time would mean less crowds...wrong! It was pretty crowded.  The kids enjoyed it, and Theo did like that he could touch the bottom for most parts.  The water in the pool was naturally warmed but you couldn't stay in it too long. Mason probably should have won this discussion, but it did work out.

We ended up heading to the town for dinner at a place called Earl's.  It was soooo good.  Woodrow was a little wiggly and fussy at the beginning of the meal, but then he saw a pig statue and he was able to settle down.  It was pretty funny because Woodrow's sign language really busted on our trip.  He does great with animals and he learned the signs for food and drink.  Woodrow thought it was so funny to keep signing pig even when we would tell him "no."  It was like he knew he was fooling us.  Anyways, the kids scarfed down their food and I could have gone for two bowls of their Fettucini Alfredo, it was that good.

Since Theo had really good behavior we told him he could pick a treat from one of the stores we went to.  I grabbed an ice-cream and sweet boy inspected every piece of candy in the store before finally choosing a ring pop.  Mason was still up for walking around a bit, so we went back to our car and he decided to take Theo on a night hike.  We brought some glow stick

s from home and they headed out along the river to Bow Waterfall, while I straightened out the car and Woodrow and I would pick them up at the end.  It was 10pm at this point, but we had a late start to the day.  Mason said he was going to head down the opposite side of the river that we had walked down on the previous day and meet us at the waterfall.  I cleaned up the car and headed to meet him.  Woodrow and I waited for awhile near the waterfall in a really dark parking lot, and he wasn't coming.  I checked the map to make sure that I was in the right place, and then came some glow sticks from the woods...wasn't them. I asked them men hiking if they had seen a man and little boy on the trail and they hadn't.  I was regretting not having cell service to communicate.  I told myself I'd wait until 11pm and then head back along the route to see if I could find them.  Long story short, Mason and Theo were on the OTHER side of the river.  Heh heh.  While Woodrow and I had been waiting they had walked to the waterfall, back to the parking garage, and were heading back to the waterfall.  Fortunately we found them along the side of the road...better communication next time.  :)      

Canada Trip: Day 6- Banff National Park

This morning we were delayed due to a flat tire.  While it delayed us by two hours, we were grateful to discover the flat tire in the hotel parking lot and not off in some isolated neck of the woods.  We were also fortunate that our hotel was about a block away from a Shell gas station with a service area, and they were able to repair the tire and get us going.  We used this opportunity to walk around downtown Banff and check out the stores, the river, and local area.  Woodrow was happy to walk around for most of our time out, and since we weren't in a big rush it was fine to walk slowly. 

When we finally got back to the car we were ready to be on our way.  Anytime we mentioned going to Banff everyone told us that we needed to go to Lake Louise, so that was the destination of the day.  We drove the 45 minutes North to Lake Louise, with a chatty, chatty Theo.  On our trip if Theo wasn't plugged in to electronics or distracted by toys, he was talking.  Non.Stop.Talking.  We'd offer suggestions such as looking out the window...but there was still so much talking.  We were getting pretty hungry by the time we got near Lake Louise, but did the "we'll stop at the next place" and before we knew it, no food. 

The Lake Louise area was PACKED.  We tried to find parking in the lots and along the road, but I think we would have ended up parking about 2 miles away from the lake.  This was about 2pm.  Another lake nearby was Moraine Lake.  We decided to drive there and check it out.  When we had passed before the road was blocked by a ranger, and when we headed back that way it was still blocked, but fortunately for not too long and it was to make sure there was parking.  It was a little cooler when we got there, but the color of the turquoise water was amazing! 

We started to hike around and decided to hike the Consolation Lakes Trail.  Whew!  The beginning of this trail was very rocky, and parts were narrow, but eventually it widened out.  The trailhead had big warning signs that you must have four people in the party to go on the trail since it was heavily trafficked by bears...great...Mason definitely considered us a strong group of four, but there were two ladies and their dog (from Canada) that ended up hiking the first part of the trail with us before they ended up trailing off.  I could definitely see how it would be an area where Grizzly's and Black Bears would want to hang out, but we didn't see any.  Whew!

At the end of the trail, we hung out for a little while, but it was again pretty rocky and chilly.  Mason walked around a little with the boys taking photos and I enjoyed sitting and putting my feet up for a few moments soaking up nature.  Theo was pretty sweet on the hike back.  There were lots of big mushrooms, and he kept telling me not to step on them because they were fairy houses. (Thank you sweet, next door neighbor Audra).

When we made it back to the trailhead, we decided to go drive back to Lake Louise and it was perfect timing.  We were able to park at one of the closest parking spots and it wasn't too crowded. The boys were in a great mood for taking some pictures by the lake and we enjoyed the scenery before it started to drizzle.   We didn't end up hiking by the lake, but it certainly was pretty.

    

Canada Trip: Day 5- Waterton Lakes NP to Banff NP

Woodrow.  Oh Woodrow.  There were days I just had to repeat to myself, "He's two, he's teething, he isn't napping, he isn't eating well, he will survive this trip."  Most of the time Mason OR I would be having a difficult time with the moods of the children, and fortunately mostly not at the same time.  This morning Mason and Theo set out to do laundry at the townsite before heading on to Banff.  Woodrow decided that he was NOT going to be happy or cooperate while I tried to pack-up the room and load the car.  I ended up just putting him in the pack n play and letting him scream while I got things ready.  This of course allowed my anger and frustrations to build and turn into frustrations as to why Mason wouldn't return to help me...it really was an awesome trip, honest.  Let's just say, by the time Woodrow and I showed up at the laundrymat and Mason and Theo were having breakfast...I may not have been the kindest wife.

I took a breath and walked around the townsite with Woodrow to find some breakfast (pie and a smoothie) while Theo and Mason enjoyed some more Wieners of Waterton.  Mason is still having dreams about the curry ketchup. Shout out to GG-they served Nathan's hotdogs!  By the time we finished breakfast all our moods had changed for the better, and we were on our way North to Banff National Park.  The ride was about 4.5 hours and I think the kids got plugged into a movie pretty quick for the drive.  We went in and out of flat land and mountains, and the last hour of our trip was pretty rainy.

I've heard from my parents for years about how breathtaking Banff is.  It's always being written about and we discovered that it is definitely a tourist spot.  The waitress at dinner that night said August is their busiest month of the year.  It was definitely beautiful, but the townsite was much larger and much more crowded than I expected.  I laughed because they had a GAP and even Minot doesn't have a GAP.

Back at Waterton we had decided to buy an annual Canadian National Parks pass, because it was the cheapest option with all our park travels.  It was surprising how we were expected to have it and the pass hung in our car, but we never actually showed it to anyone in Banff.  We did use lanes that said "park pass users" but there was no one ever checking...is that the untrusting American in me coming out?

We checked into our hotel, the Banff Inn.  Our room was really great!  It was a two-level room.  We decided that the kids would sleep downstairs and we'd take the upstairs.  I hobbled up those steps after a few of our hikes, and middle of the night bathroom trips were hard, but it worked out really well and since we were in separate spaces the kids slept late in the mornings, which worked because we were keeping them up until 10 or 11 most nights here.  The hotel had complimentary breakfast, but we never made it, so I can't comment on it either way.  We did order from the hotel restaurant one late night.  Mason had a burger that he said was pretty good and I had pizza which was okay-just lots of meat, too much for me.

Once we got settled we decided to have dinner and check out the sites.  We ended up having dinner at the Spaghetti Factory.  It was good, but the best part was the bargain. We each got soup/salad, bread, our main course, and ice cream and it was half the price of the night before.  When we left dinner we ended up driving to the cave and basin area which Mason checked out on the map.  This place made me laugh by the end of the trip, because we ended up going there each day.  It was close to the town, but by the time we got there everything was closed for the day.  It was also raining much more heavily by the time we got there.  We waited under a covered area for awhile while the kids played and splashed around in their rain coats, but we eventually decided to skip any hikes because it was so wet.  Mason really wanted to get some good sunset pictures, so he was disappointed that this wasn't working out.  We decided to drive around and so we took a drive up to the Norquay ski area which was also near the town.    It was a very pretty view along the mountain, because as the rain let up, the sky was so pretty and there was a tremendous rainbow.

It was about 7:30pm at this point and I had read about a Gondola that goes to the Summit of Sulphur Mountain.  I had mentioned this as an option after dinner, but Mason wasn't too thrilled about it, which made me a little pouty since I try and really find things I think will be great to do on our trips.  I thought it was a great activity to take a gondola ride, since we weren't going to be hiking to the top of the mountain for pictures at that hour of the night in the dampness.  We ended up driving to the Sulphur Mountain area, took a pit stop, and I batted my eyes and said, that he didn't have to go, but I really wanted to go to the top...we all ended up going.  It was pretty expensive, but Mason admits now that it was worth it because the pictures he got were AMAZING!

It was about 8:00pm by the time we got on the Gondola, and the last one down the mountain was at 9pm.  This actually ended up working perfectly.  It was sunny and gorgeous at the top.  Mason and Theo walked one way, and I clung to Woodrow as we went around another way.  It was stunning and the sun was setting at just the perfect time. There was a path we could have gone down, but the kids were getting cold and the clouds were moving in, so we stayed close to the summit while Mason took some more photos and just went a little ways along the path.  The Gondola ride was pretty cool, and I'm glad it was enclosed.

So, if you're in Banff-Sulphur Mountain at sunset is totally worth it!  We headed back to the room and took warm showers and I think we all fell asleep pretty fast.  Mason and I both did a little work on the computer, but it was a pretty good start to our Banff Adventures.